1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the present invention are related to the field of electronic devices, and in particular, to communication devices.
2. Description of Related Art
A broadband wireless access (BWA) system provides a point-to-multipoint communication system in a communications network. BWA systems typically use microwave and millimeter wave technology to transmit communication signals from a wireless base station (BS) to one or more subscriber stations (SS). A BWA system may transmit various types of digital signals including video, voice, television, Internet and other data signals.
An 802.16 family of standards were developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) to provide for fixed, portable, and/or mobile BWA networks (e.g., the IEEE std. 802.16, published 2004 and subsequent revisions). The Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) forum facilitates the deployment of broadband wireless networks based on the IEEE 802.16 standard. In particular, the WiMAX forum ensures the compatibility and inter-operability of broadband wireless equipment. For convenience, the terms “802.16” and “WiMAX” may be used interchangeably throughout this disclosure to refer to the IEEE 802.16 suite of air interface standards.
WiMAX networks may be converged wireless network designed to provide voice, video, and data services. A significant benefit of the converged wireless networks, such as a WiMAX network, is in the sharing of the most valuable resources—the wireless spectrum among different services. However, the wireless network convergence in a WiMAX network also comes with some challenges, due to its point-to-multiple-point topology. Downlink traffic broadcast to all SSs (clients) from BS is not much of an issue. The challenges lie in the arbitration of uplink transmission between multiple SSs, as well as the allocation of uplink bandwidth with Quality of Service (QoS) needed for different services.